Forecast

Bridgeport schools approve Harding, Bassick move to CSC

Doug Bonjour| on June 24, 2014

BRIDGEPORT -- Bridgeport citywide athletic director Neil Kavey believes that a new day is in store for Bassick and Harding high school athletics.

In a groundbreaking vote on Monday, both Bridgeport schools jumped the final hurdle in their move from the incredibly competitive FCIAC, where they have been since 1993, to the Constitution State Conference: Board of Education approval.

The Bridgeport BOE voted 6-3 in favor of a move that's expected to offer the two schools a significantly better opportunity to compete in the CSC. The move will go into effect for the 2015-16 school year.

"I'm just delighted with the board's vote," Kavey said. "It's a new day for Bridgeport sports. Hopefully, it increases our participation."

Several factors were cited in the move, including both schools' poor record in the FCIAC and the decline in athletic participation among students.

"It couldn't have been a smarter, more common-sensical outcome than this," Kavey said.

Last month, CSC principals approved the move in a 10-4 vote at one of the league's schools, Prince Tech in Hartford. Jim Day, the conference's athletic director, commended the move, especially because of Bassick and Harding's success in boys basketball. The two schools have combined to win four of the last nine FCIAC titles in the sport.

"For us, it was the total package," Day said last month. "But when you look at tradition, the tradition does lie in basketball."

The move to the CSC -- a 22-team league made up primarily of vocational-technical schools, including Bullard-Havens in Bridgeport, Platt Tech in Milford and O'Brien Tech in Ansonia -- is expected to benefit many sports at Bassick and Harding. Both Bridgeport schools have routinely been at the bottom of FCIAC standings.

Kavey, during his presentation on Monday, noted that the schools' baseball, softball and boys volleyball teams combined for an 11-145 record this spring. All of those wins were posted against fellow Bridgeport schools.

"I've never seen a situation this dire," Kavey said.

Several other coaches spoke in favor of the move on Monday, including Harding girls volleyball coach Jessica Racine, who insinuated that the consistent losing is emotionally taxing on the team.

"I'm so accustomed to losing, it is extremely disheartening," said Racine, whose team finished 2-16 this season.

Harding athletic director Chris Johnson cited the fact that participation in athletics has declined over the years as well.

"Twenty-five percent of the kids who were participating as freshman athletes are no longer participating," Johnson said.

Now Playing:

Bassick and Harding's departure will leave the FCIAC with 17 schools. Kavey said that the CSC did not consider adding Central because the school's 2,000-student enrollment was twice the size of any other school in the conference.